All American Banana Split

Telling Tales: On the first day I came to America, I met Fred. He invited me to have lunch in a small restaurant in the Village (in NYC). I wanted to have a banana split as I had seen one on the movies.

When it came, I thought the waiter was just showing it to me and would take it in the back and serve a small portion. I gasped when I realized the whole thing was for me. I declared I could never eat such a huge thing.

And then I did.

I didn’t share but maybe I should have.

Food Job: Childhood Obesity Researcher

First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! Initiative before a gathering of 800 invited chefs in the Rose Garden of the White House. She said, “This is an initiative to reverse the devastating long-term consequences of childhood obesity and to improve the quality of the food served in public schools.”

She encouraged all invited guests to join in the challenge by saying, “You are all at the heart of this initiative . . . You know more about food than almost anyone—other than grandmas—and you’ve got the visibility and the enthusiasm to match that knowledge.”

French Fries (Photo by Robyn Lee, Serious Eats)

This is a short excerpt from “The Trouble with Fries” by Malcolm Gladwell that appeared in The New Yorker.

“We like [French] fries not in spite of the fact that they’re unhealthy but because of it.”

“That is sobering news for those interested in improving the American diet. For years, the nutrition movement in this country has made transparency one of its principal goals; it has assumed that the best way to help people improve their diets is to tell them precisely what’s in their food, to label certain foods good and certain foods bad. But transparency can backfire, because sometimes nothing is more deadly for our taste buds than the knowledge that what we are eating is good for us.”

By gum! He’s right. To my mind, Malcolm Gladwell has ascended to the pinnacle of original thinkers of our time…

Sign seen at a Zoo in Budapest: “Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.”

So…I looked up Popeye (the sailor man!) on Wikedpia and found this astonishing information:

Spinach Myth busted by Wikipedia: The cartoon character Popeye is portrayed as having a strong affinity for spinach, becoming physically stronger after consuming it. The commonly accepted version of events states that this portrayal was based on faulty calculations of the iron content.

My general theory is: we should listen to dieticians, but not give them our undivided attention.

Would you please pass the chocolate cake?

Interpret that request as you please!